The Final Destination
by AVampireBride
Summary: Ever wonder what events took place between the time Rose tossed the Heart of the Ocean into the ocean and when she fell asleep? ONE SHOT


Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the movie or the real Titanic. I am simply the owner of the plot.

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"Here I am, Jack. I kept my promise, just like I said I would. I fulfilled our dreams and did everything we wanted to do," Rose said as she stood on the stern of the Russian research vessel, the Keldysh. Two and a half miles below her lay TITANIC, or what was left of her. Rose had come back to the place where, 84 years before, her life was just beginning and another was ending. She shared her story with her granddaughter Lizzie and the many others who at first didn't believe her. Rose knew it was her time and she wanted to get Jack's story out before it was too late so that his memory may live on.

Moments before, 101 year old Rose slowly made her way to the stern, only to throw the Heart of the Ocean back where it belonged. The heavy stone had been a constant reminder these many years of what she had lost, what she had gained, and a promise she had made that tragic night. With the wind tousling her long white locks, Rose drew a deep breath of the salty sea air. She looked up at the deep night sky filled with stars, almost like a long black cloak embedded with thousands of tiny diamonds. A smile crossed her lips as a shooting star raced across the sky.

"My pops used to say a shooting star was a soul going to heaven…" Jack's words lingered in her mind even to this day. Every word of every conversation the two of them ever shared was locked away in her memory. Rose clung to those words and memories for they were all she had left.

Finally shivering in her nightgown, Rose walked back to her stateroom, proud of all she accomplished in her life. For 84 years Rose lived on a promise, and for 84 years she kept it. Jack was the love of her life and he gave up all he had so she could go on. Rose took the scenic route, stopping by Lizzie's room. Softly Rose knocked on the door but she knew her granddaughter would be asleep. Rose opened the wooden door quietly and crossed the space between the entrance and the bed where Lizzie lay sleeping.

Lizzie looked like an angel. Rose's stomach nearly lurched into her throat. She felt sorry that she had to leave her granddaughter behind, but Rose had lived her life and now it was time for Lizzie to live hers.

Silently, as to not wake her sleeping angel, Rose spoke, "When you wake I won't be on this earth any longer, my dear Lizzie. My river has run its course and now I must move onto the next stream. My time here is through. You will cry over me and mourn me, but you must move on and live your life. I will be watching over you for always. You'll go on and make babies, like I did. You'll find the man of your dreams, someone who can put up with your ways and love you for you. In fact I think you already have. I love you, Lizzie, and someday we shall be together again. Be good to each other and remember, live each day to the fullest and always make it count."

Rose bent over, planting a soft kiss on Lizzie's forehead before continuing her journey to her own room. Placed carefully on her side table and her over turned suitcase where Rose's most prized possessions, the links to her past, her photographs. She held each one, remembering the day it was taken like she had just lived it. One of her favorites was the photo taken of her astride a horse, one leg over each side like a real man would ride. She was riding the surf in Santa Monica, California. Jack was with her that day, just like he was every other day of her life. The old woman placed the portrait back in its placed amongst the others before pulling the covers over her slim body.

"I'm ready, Jack," Rose said before falling into an eternal slumber.

In the dark night sky above the gentle waves of the Northern Atlantic, a brilliant shooting star climbed towards the heavens.


End file.
